While it’s been a tumultuous past decade for the music industry, and things are showing no sign of calming down, all the chaos has created a tremendous amount of opportunity for artists across the music business spectrum.
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Guest post by James Shotwell of Haulix
The music industry is an absolute mess right now, and that’s good news for artists big and small.
The music industry, as we know it, is roughly one-hundred years old. Comparing the business of music today to how it looked even a decade ago is practically impossible. There have been many changes throughout the last century, but in recent years, the number of changes and the speed at which they happen has increased dramatically.
As a result of all that change, it is not hard to find people lamenting the state of music today. People will claim it’s too hard to make a living as a musician. Others will say there are nowhere near as many rockstars as there were in decades past. While there may be some truth to every criticism, the music business as a whole has never been better. There are more opportunities than ever before, and there are more musicians changing lives with their creativity.
The shifting landscape of the music industry has finally created a space for artists from all backgrounds to get ahead. Virtually everyone with an internet connection has the same opportunities for success. As long as you have a smartphone or laptop, you can record and upload your latest creation in a matter of minutes. Once online, your song or album has the potential to reach billions of people. You can start earning money on virtually every stream of your next release as soon as it is available online.
Compare the paragraph above to the state of music in the 1990s. Musicians would need to purchase recording equipment or rent studio space, which could easily cost hundreds of dollars per hour. After recording, artists would spend hundreds or even thousands more to make their music available on cassette, CD, or vinyl. Those physical units would only turn into money if the artist sold their material in stores or at a gig (because practically no one was shopping online).
Today’s musicians don’t have to save for months or accrue debt to release music. Artists today can create and release music as soon as they’re ready to do, which is one of many reasons there has never been a better time to enter the music business. Here are several more:
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